Kelsey Wiens, Ryan Merkley, Alek Tarkowski, Delia Browne Creative Commons, Creative Commons, Centrum Cyfrowe, National Copyright Unit

1. Global Network Strategy Consultation

2. Why we are here
● CC 15th Anniversary: Moment to celebrate, reflect, and plan for the future of the movement
● Evaluation of current network: 100+ affiliates in 80+ countries
○ Mostly built upon old MOUs, focused on agreements for license translation and porting
● Network needs to grown and include new voices to meet our vision and goals as a movement
● Opportunity to think seriously about the network we have and what the movement urgently
needs
● Proposal: Build on our common values and principles; evolve the network to ensure we have what
we need to accomplish CC’s mission

3. Background: Why we are here

4. Background
● Goal: A community-led process and strategy to analyze, revitalize and grow the CC network
● Plan:
○ Review existing network structure and composition
○ Identify opportunities for growth and improvement
○ Propose a new structure to meet current and future needs
● Team: Global Network Strategy Steering Committee
○ 20 contributors from across the affiliate network, representing all regions, including 3 regional
co-ordinators
○ Co-chaired by CC CEO Ryan Merkley and CC Poland Alek Tarkowski

5. Process
● Oct 2015: CC Day Zero in Seoul, South Korea
○ Affiliates recommended review and process to strengthen the network
● April 2016: CC HQ asked for volunteers from the network to lead review process
● May 2016, Washington DC: First in-person committee meeting
○ Identify issues and plan research and strategy development process
● Summer 2016: Independent researchers conducted interviews with teams in all regions
○ Produced 300-page “Faces of the Commons” report identifying issues and opportunities
○ Reports shared openly with community; translated to Spanish, Arabic, French

6. Process (continued)
● Nov 2016: Second in-person committee meeting
○ Review research insights, make recommendations, develop strategy framework
● Dec 2016: Committee drafted recommendations; finalized and translated documents
● Jan 2017: Consultation began
● Mar 24, 2017: Consultation ends; committee to review and make revisions as required
● April 28-30, 2017: CC Summit in Toronto, Canada
○ Community endorsement of final approved strategy

7. Issues and Insights

8. Issues and Insights
● MOU structure was designed for license porting
● Today’s CC movement works in many more areas, like policy, advocacy, open education, open
access, and more
● Affiliate structure limits membership to MOU signatories
○ Makes it difficult to recruit and retain new contributors

9. Issues and Insights
● Regional Co-ordinator structure isn’t serving the network or CC HQ
○ Communication: Information not getting through, HQ not getting information, teams not
communicating/collaborating
○ Missed opportunities: Resources left unused, potential contributors unable to get involved,
local teams not supported as needed
● Affiliate members often feel isolated and are working very hard without much support
○ A few people are carrying a lot of the work; Teams and individuals feel burnt out, and need
more resources for their everyday work

10. Issues and Insights
● There is a strong desire to work on shared projects and set shared goals
○ Need better structure to provide support and collaboration
● New network activities require more coordination, shared decision-making, and adequate
resourcing to have impact

11. Issues and Insights
● CC network needs opportunity to set its priorities
○ Take a leadership role in growing and supporting new and existing teams
○ Building consensus for policies and collective actions
● CC HQ has unique core functional roles (e.g., brand and trademark, license infrastructure, legal
entity and requirements), and is also a key contributor and leader in the movement with its own
staff and strategy

12. Creative Commons
Global Network Model

13. One vision, two mission statements
CC movement and CC HQ organization share a common vision:
“Our vision for the Creative Commons Global Network is nothing less
than realizing the full potential of the Internet — universal access to
research and education, full participation in culture — to drive a new
era of development, growth, and productivity.”

14. One vision, two mission statements
However, the CC movement should have a broader mission
statement to guide its work:
“The mission of the Creative Commons Global Network is to build a
global commons of creativity and knowledge, and grow a movement
that advocates, promotes and enables openness and sharing around
the world.”

15. Overview

16. Overview
● New governance and decision-making model
○ Global Network Council with representation from each country
○ Sub-committees to manage work of the Council
● New membership model for governance: No more affiliates
○ Any individual contributor can become a member
○ Organizations can join as Network Partners, but can’t vote
■ Organization staff can of course join as individual members

17. Overview
● Members and Partners organized under Country Teams
○ Select a public lead to co-ordinate country-level activities
○ Elect a Global Network Council representative for global governance work
○ Country teams work together to set national level priorities and positions
● Membership only required to participate in governance
○ Anyone can contribute to the activities of the movement regardless of affiliation

18. CC Global Network Council

19. CCGNC: Core Functions
● Coordinate the activities of the most active contributors of the movement (both individuals and
organizations)
● Provide a structure of representation for Country Teams at global level
● Collaboratively define movement strategy and provide stewardship for the CC licenses

20. CCGNC: Core Functions
● Defined areas of activity or work programs (Platforms)
● Grow, evaluate and improve the network
● Advise and build consensus on global CC positions, strategy, network resource allocation
● Participate in global fundraising efforts

21. Membership
● Any individual can apply to become a Network Member, approved by CCGN
● Organizations can apply to become Network Partners
● Network Members and Partners will endorse a Global Network Charter
● Network Members and Partners can speak on behalf of their country teams as
CC on Platform topics
● Membership is renewed every 2 years

22. Country teams
● Open to all Network Members and Partners working in that country
● Network Members or Partners will only be affiliated with one Country Team at
a time. This does not exclude them from projects in other countries
● Each Country Team sends one representative to the Global Network Council
● Each Country Team will select an individual (similar to Public Lead) to be
responsible for coordinating and communicating Country Team activities

23. Country team activities
● Run activities and provide support to local projects
● Serve as a contact and information point for questions about CC
● Represent the CCGN to national and local governments and organisations
● Maintain and update a country-specific website on xx.creativecommons.org
● Establish Country Team consensus on national positions related to the CCGN
● Report on accomplishments to the Global Network Council
● Elect a representative to the Global Network Council

24. Role of CC HQ in the Network

25. Role of CC HQ in the Network
● CC HQ remains a distinct organisational entity with special responsibilities
○ Works as an active and collaborative member of the movement
○ Participates in the CCGN
○ Supports and facilitates the CCGN

26. CC HQ Responsibilities
● Administrative and organisational support for the GNC and its subcommittees
● Support and manage Platform Coordinators for CCGN’s Platforms
● Co-organize Global Summits with the GNC
● Consult on further development of legal tools with the GNC

27. CC HQ Responsibilities
● Provide communication tools for internal and external communication
○ e.g., Website, Wiki, mailing lists, IRC, Slack
● Consults the GNC as part of its own strategic planning
● Manages the global trademark and brand
● Leads fundraising to support CC HQ and CCGN initiatives in collaboration with
the CCGN

28. HQ Support and Funding
● The network will collaborate with CC HQ to actively fundraise to support the
continued allocation of these resources
● CC HQ will also provide two kinds of new direct financial support:
○ Activities Fund: Small fund to provide small amounts of resources for
everyday activities
○ Global Initiative Fund for Platform Activities: Funds allocated to projects
within an established Platform, by a grant review committee advising

29. Areas of Work: Platforms

30. Areas of Work: Platforms
● Platforms are "defined areas of work", approved by the CCGN
● Platforms can be issue-based, region-based, or function-oriented
○ Issue: Copyright reform, open education, GLAM
○ Region: CC Europe
○ Function: Mentoring and team-building

31. Areas of Work: Platforms
● Each Platform has an assigned co-ordinator, defined objectives and positions on
key issues
● Approved Platforms eligible to receive project resources from the Global Fund
● Anyone can propose a Platform, but with limited resources, the network will
have to set priorities
● Non-Platform work can always be undertaken by Country Teams, but not as
official CC project

32. Consultation
January until March 24, 2017